ADVICE NEEDED - Fallkniven vs. Bark River

I had the same question 2 years ago.

I went Fallkniven because of the stainless and lamination - and now have 3.5 of them

Both companies products are so good you will be happy with what you get.

The real issue is what you want the knife for : if it is mostly food prep skinning etc a thinner balde might serve you better than thicker blade or blade which is easier to chop food with like a canadian style - which BRKT does
 
Living by the coast doesn't mean carbon steel will rust. Salt doesn't float around in the air. Yup, I live by the coast. Carbon steel no problem. Of course I don't spend hundreds on a knife and then neglect it.
 
on_the_edge said:
I think that is a generalization. Please point me in the direction of a bad review on a Mora. They are stainless.
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That's funny, every one of my Moras are high carbon blades.

And yeah, I think it is a generalization, especially with all the great new steels out, there doesn't seem to be that huge divide. Though the tough stainless ones are harder to field sharpen, it's probably not a big deal for most people unless they are out for long periods of time, or use their knives a ridiculous amount out in the wild.
 
stainless, carbon, whatever..personal preference..ive had lots of high grade stainless knives and lots of high grade carbon knives, and it really depends on the steel for how hard or easy it is to sharpen...i like fallkniven knives..they are built well and well tested.

But again, its all about personal preference..some of us may have had bad experiences with certain brands and that definetly changes our opinion..but all in all knife vs knife...IMO Fallkniven is incredible.
 
I think I am going to get the A2 first. If I like it, I like. If not I can always get a CPM154 one in the future. I was reading a comment from Mike Stewart on the Bravo 1's A2 and CPM154. He says the 154 is tough as D-2 but with 20% more edge retention and stainless resistance. He also stated that A2 has finer grains in the metal than CPM154. But I've seen (in videos only) that D2 chips easily. True or false?
 
The A-2 that Bark River uses is great stuff. I have a Cold Steel Master Hunter in CarbonV that performs very well compared to the Bravo-1 for much less $$. The F-1 is one I been wanting to try also.
 
It's not:

Fallkniven vs. Bark River

It's:

Fallkniven & Bark River!:cool:

Kind regards,

Jos
 
I have the Bravo1 in A2 and a Falkniven Idun. Both are incredible knives. For the person that didnt like the thumb ramp, Bark River will remove it all you have to do is pay shipping. I had mine removed. You really cant go wrong with either.
 
Daniel Koster on the knifemaker specific forum here at BF has a couple of bushcrafter knives available right now: one in cpm154 and one in cpm3v. Either one is a terrific value, check 'em out.
 
BravoFrostOne said:
I was reading a comment from Mike Stewart on the Bravo 1's A2 and CPM154. He says the 154 is tough as D-2 but with 20% more edge retention and stainless resistance. He also stated that A2 has finer grains in the metal than CPM154. But I've seen (in videos only) that D2 chips easily. True or false?
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Mike Stewart knocks out some really good designs, and almost single-handedly brought the convex grind back into the production knife market, which was a boon indeed. That said, his steel performance experiences tend to be...um...interesting. Especially if he just got a good deal on a lot of one alloy or another. Not that I'd accuse him of being a salesman or anything. ;)

D2 forms very large carbides during the heat treatment process and does not do well with edges that get finer than 25-30 degrees included angle. CPM154 will support edges thinner than that. However, if both knives were at the same geometry of 25 degrees or thicker, then the only time you'd ever run into CPM154 outlasting D2 in terms of edge holding would be in an extremely corrosive environment, or POSSIBLY under impact use, though arguing which of these two particular steels is tougher in terms of impact use is kind of like arguing about whether a teacup chiuaua is a better sled dog than a pomeranian.
 
I have both the F1 and Bravo-1 A2. I started with the Bark River North Star then wanted something beefier so I picked up the B1. Here's what I've found:

Bravo-1:
- I used it with the thumb ramp for a year but wasn't crazy about it so I finally removed it. Made a bigger difference than I thought it would - for the better. It also looks better without it IMO.

- I found the micarta (canvas) handle a little slippery when it's polished so I gave it a sanding with 100 grit sandpaper. This gives is a softer feel and makes it quite a bit more grippy, especially when wet. This also makes it look a lot more worn and lighter in color so I applied black liquid shoe polish do darken it and left it over night then gave it a rinse. Worked great. It was green.

- I mostly do canoe tripping so I'm always around water and had seen rust start on it at one point. I had been submerged past my waist with the knife on my belt in it's leather sheath. Not a good combination. Anyhow, problem solved by forcing a patina on it using mustard.

With the sanded handle and forced patina it looks a bit like an old shoe, but it's a really nice, perfectly fitting old shoe.

I picked up the F1 because I had heard so much about it so I wanted to give it a shot. I also wanted a spare for when I head into the bush with a friend who in not equipped. I really quite like it. Nice edge and yes, boy does it throw sparks! The handle is a fair bit shorter than the B1 and the blade is about 1/4" shorter as well. It feels nice but, personally, it doesn't feel quite as nice as the thicker, more sculpted handle of the B1.

I can definitely get a keener edge on the B1, able to slice through cigarette paper and all that. Scary sharp. I can get the F1 shaving sharp but not the kind of edge I can get with the B1. Perhaps with time and getting a feel for the F1 I'll have better luck in the future. Can't say it's problem with the knife, I just don't find it quite as easy at this point.

I plan on doing a review and comparison of the knives on my outdoors website - www.MaddyTheGoose.com. Hopefully I'll have it up at the end of the summer.

As so many have said, I really don't think you can go wrong with either. Both are very functional knives, in the end I think it'll come down to personal taste.
 
It's all been said. I own both, both are great. Both come scary sharp from the factory. The Bravo is slightly more stout. The F1's handle is more blister resistant IMO.

Can't go wrong. Get both.

-Freq
 
Hmmmm. not much left to say, it seems it has pretty much all been said.

As already stated many times, both companies make great knives and you can really go wrong with any of their offerings. JOS summed it up with his Fallkniven & Bark River observation :thumbup:

As for handle material and ergos, we all have different hands, so there is no "one size fits all" solution so there will be varying opinions on each knife.

I own and use; Fallkniven F1 Black Micarta, Fallkniven A2 Thermorun, Bark River Brovo 2 Black Canvas Micarta, and Bark River Gunny Desert Iron Wood Burl. Here is my handle opinion/experience based on these similar knives.

Fallkniven A2 with Thermorun: A good all round handle material. Grippy when wet or dry, not a lot of ergonomic contouring which helps it fit most hands and grip positioning, but may sacrifice some comfort. The Thermorun does help absorb some impact when chopping or batoning, BUT, I find if you really have to grip onto the knife for extended periods the grippy Thermorun can create hot spots on your hand. I really like this knife during the cold winter months here. It feels really secure in a gloved hand. The F1 has a smaller handle than the A2 and I know some folks comment it is a bit too small for their hands, but again everyones mileage will vary.

Bark River Bravo 2 with Black Canvas Micarta: Again, this knife is larger than the ones you are interested in, but for discussing handle material it is a close cousin. I really like the contouring on the Bravo 2 handle, it fits my hand very well and I find it very comfortable. I don't find it slippery in the factory finish as some others do, even with sweaty hands, but again everyone is different. I still find I can get hot spots when working it hard, but in my experience it seems to take a bit longer. The jury is still out for me with respect to the thumb ramp, I don't find it much of an asset, but it doesn't really bother me either.

Fallkniven F1 Black Micarta: For overall size and comfort this is one of my favorite knives. I really like the contours of the micarta handle. The micarta model is a hand made knife and it feels much different in the hand than the thermorun model. Both are superior knives, but the micarta model is a step up.

Bark River Gunny Desert Ironwood Burl: This is another favorite of mine and it competes pretty much one on one with my F1 as far as which one I grab off the peg at any given time. Again the contoured wood handle is very comfortable and I find it feels similar in the hand to the contoured micarta handles. The wood looks stunning and is holding up well so far.

I'm fortunate to own a variety of Bark River and Fallkniven knives and can choose the one that best suits the job at hand, but as a very general comment I would say I lean toward my Thermorun handled Fallknivens when I'm working with gloved hands. And lean toward my contoured micarta or wood handles when working bare handed. All the handle materials work very well in gloved or bare hands, but I just find this to be MY general preference.

I won't go into the steel types much, they have been covered off well enough. Suffice it to say I agree that both companies use excellent steel with great heat treat, and I have had no problems with any of my knives.

Warranty philosophy differs between the companies. Fallkniven has a two year warranty and their philosophy is: "we build a top quality knife, if a manufacturing defect is present it will show up early during use, if the knife lasts the first two years, it will last a lifetime".

Bark River has a Life Time warranty, if it breaks, if the handle cracks, for any reason, return it, we will fix it. Covered for everything except badger attack.

So Bark River has a better warranty, but Fallkniven is equally confident in the quality of their product.

Not sure if all this rambling has been of any use or not. Both are great knives, if you choose the F1 and can afford the additional cost I would suggest the F1 micarta, but the F1 thermorun is also a very fine knife and will excell in all environments.

Kevin
 
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